Count Roadkill From Your Bike for Science

Cyclists can now help scientists by reporting animals flattened by automobiles.

An organization that pairs data-collecting outdoor enthusiasts with researchers launched a roadkill-observation project this week. Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation is calling on everyone from commuters to expedition cyclists to record information about wildlife carcasses on their route and enter the data online.

“The tens of thousands of people that are outside every day can now be mobilized to do more with their time, to be citizen scientists,” said Gregg Treinish, who founded and directs the non-profit group.

“I think that cyclists and the pedestrian world have this weird connection to roadkill because of the risk we’re always facing,” said Shilling.

Before transportation planners can help prevent costly collisions, they need the kind of data that cyclists are uniquely positioned to collect.

Commuters and recreational cyclists who regularly ride the same routes are important observers because their contributions will help track change over time, Shilling said. Expedition cyclists on long trips can provide snapshots of roadkill over a large region.

Sonya Baumstein, the founder of Epoch Expeditions, an adventure and environmental education non-profit, inspired the call to the cycling community when she contacted Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation looking for projects. Baumstein is on her organization’s first trek — a 13,000-mile rowing, biking, kayaking, hiking, education and data collection extravaganza that she plans to complete in less than 400 days, sometimes traveling solo. She and another team member are currently biking north along the West Coast, adding to the 300 athletes that Treinish has paired with about 80 scientists since 2011.

During her ride, Baumstein is helping Treinish and Shilling pilot the project to record flattened fauna. Cyclists who don’t want to stop can make a voice recording on the fly noting the location of an ill-fated animal, or they can remember observations and write them on a notepad. They could stop and take a photo as well, which is the best way to help researchers confirm identifications.

Shilling has already learned a lot by asking California drivers to log dead animals into his database. So far, 708 people, including wildlife experts, have entered over 17,000 observations into the California Roadkill Observation System.

Half of California’s land-dwelling vertebrate species have appeared in the system, identified with 95 percent accuracy, said Shilling. He’s learned that installing wildlife crossings over or under roads won’t be enough to reduce roadkill, because animals are hit everywhere, and there aren’t many specific hotspots.

Shilling’s take on the easiest and least expensive solution to wildlife collisions is one every traffic-weary cyclist can appreciate. Drivers should slow down.

“We take for granted our right to drive these fast-moving metal objects wherever we feel like, at whatever speeds we feel like, until we get caught for speeding,” said Shilling.

His group has developed an Android app for its California database and plans to release it in about a month. They’re also looking for help creating an iPhone app. Technology development for the roadkill projects happens on volunteer time, just like the data collection.

“People are investing their time in the hope that it’s going to result in a conservation benefit,” said Shilling. “That they won’t even get recognized for it necessarily, but they are helping to make it happen, I think that’s a really big deal.”